New artists join our team!

Pleasant Plains Workshop is thrilled to announce a new residency program and the Euclid Street Studios- a nearby extension of our workshop. The Euclid Street Studios were conceived of and carried out in collaboration with artist, Ken Ashton who operates and also works out of a studio at the space.

Starting this Fall, in addition to long-time resident artists, Kristina Bilonick and Anthony Dihle, we welcome artists: Rujunko Pugh and Champneys Taylor. The two artists will work at the Euclid Street Studio spaces and Pleasant Plains Workshop for 6 months, during which they will participate in PPW programming, an open studio event, and end with a final presentation of their work. Learn more about them below and stay tuned for upcoming residency-related events and exhibitions!

Rujunko PughRujunko Pugh works in digital and analog photography including alternative photography methods. She has an MS in Molecular Biosciences and Bioengineering and is currently based between Washington, D.C. and Rome, Italy. In 2009, she moved from Honolulu, Hawaii to Washington and since then, she has shown her work at Club Machiavelli, MakeMake, Mid City Cafe, Logan14 Aveda Salon, and Long View Gallery. She has also participated in local auctions such as Art for Life and Hickok Cole Art Night. While in Hawaii, she received recognition for her photography and has exhibited her work at Honolulu Academy of Arts, Japanese Chamber of Commerce, The Contemporary Museum, and Club Monaco. In Nairobi, Kenya. She was a resident artist at Kuona Trust and British Institute in Eastern African Institute for Human Security. In 2011, she was the Auction Coordinator for the Washington project for the Arts and the Social Media Director for the Vanuatu Pacifica Foundation founded by Paul Miller aka DJ Spooky. Find out more at Rujunko’s website: www.rujunkopugh.com.

Champneys Taylor

Champneys ‘Champ’ Taylor was born in Jacksonville, Florida, and lives in Washington, DC. Taylor is a 2012 fellow at the Virginia Center for Creative Arts (VCCA). Between 2005 and 2007 he regularly exhibited work at Cynthia Broan (New York City). His video work was screened at the Armand Hammer Auditorium in 2006 and 2007 as part of the Washington Project for the Arts “Experimental Media” series. In 2000 Taylor co-founded the artists’ collective Decatur Blue, an organization with which he showed works at galleries and art spaces in DC, Baltimore, Philadelphia, and Miami Beach, until 2005. His work has been exhibited in group shows at Transformer (DC), Millenium Art Center (DC), and Salve Regina Gallery, Catholic University. Earlier this year, he mounted a solo exchibition at DC Arts Center. His work is in public and private collections in Kansas City, Las Vegas, New York City, Washington DC, and Brescia, Italy. See more of his work at: www.champneystaylor.com